French leader takes 82% of vote in showdown with extreme right : Chirac routs Le Pen in runoff

PARIS:— French voters delivered an overwhelming "non" Sunday to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right contender for the presidency, by re-electing Jacques Chirac, a conservative, to a second term with a record margin of 82 percent of the vote.

Le Pen, who had said earlier he would consider less than 30 percent of the vote to be "a huge disappointment," received only 18 percent in the second-round ballot, up only a single percentage point from his showing in the first round two weeks ago. Leftist voters who have long opposed Chirac turned out to join conservatives in casting ballots for the Gaullist incumbent to signal their distaste for Le Pen's anti-immigrant, anti-European views.

Turnout was up substantially from the first round, and politicians and commentators hailed the result as helping to salvage the country's reputation after Le Pen's success in the first round sent a political shock wave around France and Europe.

"We have gone through a time of serious anxiety for the country," Chirac said in a televised victory speech. "But tonight, France has reaffirmed its attachment to values of the Republic."

Chirac later told thousands of cheering supporters gathered in chilly rain in the Place de La Republique in Paris that the nation "has refused to give in to the temptation of intolerance and demagoguery."

Le Pen said the result was "a stinging defeat for hope in France." He complained that he had been the victim of "Soviet" and "totalitarian" methods to keep him out of office, referring in part to widespread criticism of him in the media .

Chirac, 69, was set to name a new interim prime minister and cabinet on Monday ahead of parliamentary elections in June. The new government will be of conservative hue, following the planned formal resignation Monday of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, a Socialist. Jospin announced his retirement from politics after he unexpectedly placed third behind Chirac and Le Pen in the first-round presidential ballot.

The two favorites to become the new prime minister are Nicolas Sarkozy, the Gaullist mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a provincial politician considered to be more of a moderate. Chirac's strong showing in the election, and the aim he stated in his victory speech of achieving a national consensus, may lead him to appoint comparatively moderate politicians in the new government, commentators said.

Chirac promised to respond to the electorate's demand for political change, saying the priorities of the new government would be "to re-establish the authority of the state, respond to the demands for security and put France on a new path of growth and employment."

He also said the vote meant the French wanted to remain open to Europe and the world—Le Pen urged French withdrawal from the European Union—while adopting reforms in domestic politics. "We will respond to this appeal," Chirac said.

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The election evoked relief from Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, who had been alarmed over the rise of the anti-EU hard right in one of the Union's key members. "The extremist, isolationist policies of Jean-Marie Le Pen have been rejected and crushed," Prodi said. "Today the French people have once again demonstrated that their nation belongs to the heart of Europe.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain said the election result was "a victory for democracy and a defeat for extremism." Earlier, the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said he was pleased at the prospect of Le Pen's being "marginalized and defeated."

The overwhelming rejection of Le Pen came as the left voted for Chirac as the lesser of two evils. Francois Hollande, first secretary of the Socialist Party, said the Socialists had "done their duty and more" for the republic Sunday.

Hollande said the Socialists would now attempt to regain power in parliament in the elections for the National Assembly on June 9 and 16. If they succeed, it would mean Chirac may continue to have to share power with the left, as he has for the past five years — an eventuality that commentators say could lead to political instability.

Chirac is instead seeking a clear parliamentary majority in the legislative elections.

With 78 percent of the vote counted, the Interior Ministry said Chirac had won 81.67 of the valid votes and Le Pen 18.33 percent. Le Pen received a higher proportion of the vote in some of the strongholds for his National Front party, primarily in Mediterranean regions with large numbers of immigrants.

Le Pen, a former paratrooper and street brawler noted for anti-Semitic and racist remarks, had said that if elected, he would expel immigrants, give French citizens preference for jobs and social benefits, and restore the French franc instead of the euro.

He complained of being mistreated during the campaign. "All the television, radio, press, all methods of exerting influence, were at the service of the same cause, this great honest man who everyone was calling 'Super liar' a short time ago," Le Pen said, referring to Chirac.

Since the first round of voting, there have large street demonstrations against the far right leader in all major cities, but Le Pen said the election had established his National Front party as the leading political force in the country.

He predicted that the forces that united to elect Chirac would soon "tear themselves apart."

Chirac has pledged to create a public security ministry to fight rising crime, and vows zero tolerance for criminals — although he will follow the tradition following a presidential election of overlooking fines for minor parking or driver violations.